NRA stalls surgeon general pick

Obamacare may not hold up sensitive high-level health nominations in the Senate these days. But the NRA does.

The White House’s pick to serve as the nation’s top doctor has been stalled since February because the National Rifle Association opposes him. There’s no sign of movement and no clear strategy to get a Senate vote on Vivek Murthy as surgeon general, several supporters say.

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In contrast, President Barack Obama’s nominee to be the next secretary of Health and Human Services sailed through two confirmation hearings and a bipartisan committee vote this month. Sylvia Mathews Burwell is likely to be confirmed in early June for a job that puts her in charge of the contentious Affordable Care Act.

Murthy also backs Obamacare. But it’s the vehemence of gun advocates that has essentially tabled his confirmation through the November elections. With the NRA actively against him, few Democratic lawmakers are eager to force a fight with the group, given the vulnerability of Democrats running for reelection in red states this fall.

“The only ones that were opposed to him is the National Rifle Association, and it’s a shame that an entity like that can call the shots — poor choice of words — on who is going to be the surgeon general,” said Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), who has endorsed the nomination.

The NRA’s position is “only based upon Dr. Murthy’s statement where he said that gun deaths in America [are] a public health problem. Who can disagree with that? It’s the public that’s dying out there in record numbers,” added Harkin. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which he chairs, approved Murthy’s nomination in late February with the support of all Democrats and Republican Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois.

A White House official said this week that the president still supports Murthy but declined to comment on the current effort for getting him approved, including whether the White House would try to “recess appoint” him to the post.

He’s strongly backed by several health constituencies, such as public health advocates, research organizations and physician groups. Yet the NRA, as well as some Republicans, say past Murthy statements in support of gun control indicate that he could use the surgeon general job to promote anti-gun policies. Murthy has stated that he would not focus on gun violence in the position.

The NRA’s opposition has sparked concerted opposition from several Republicans, who also criticized the 36-year-old internist’s medical credentials as inadequate for the job. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul has promised to try to block the nomination if Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid brings it to the Senate floor.

Earlier this year, White House press secretary Jay Carney said the Obama administration was “recalibrating the strategy” around Murthy’s floor vote.

“We expect him to get confirmed ultimately and be one of the country’s most powerful messengers on health and wellness,” Carney said after the HELP Committee vote.

Murthy made no reference to his nomination or the confirmation process during his commencement address only Monday at the Yale School of Medicine, his alma mater. He did not mention gun deaths or gun control and included a passing comment about the health care law. Murthy instead praised the “time of great change” in health care.

“We are witnessing seismic shifts in technology, health care policy and cultural norms that are altering the environment in which we provide care and the role that physicians play in our health care system,” he told the graduates. “Now, we are making extraordinary progress in finding cures and expanding coverage, but still too many patients that we see are going without good care because access is difficult and costs are still too high.”

He did mention his founding of Doctors for America, a pro-Obamacare organization that began as Doctors for Obama. Several Republicans have said he was nominated only because of his political bona fides with that group.

But Murthy explained that a patient — a woman named Anne who was terrified after surgery — was his inspiration for the organization.

“It was Anne and thousands of other patients who I have been blessed to care for,” he said, “who bolstered my resolve to build Doctors for America in order to engage physicians around the country in creating a better health care system for all, despite being warned by many that doctors were too busy, too disillusioned and too cynical to play a role in improving our health care system.”

Rear Adm. Boris D. Lushniak has been serving as acting surgeon general since July.